Chief Executive John Lee on Thursday pledged to improve the online booking system for PCR tests so that people won’t have to queue up for hours at some centres, while others have plenty of free slots.

At a Legco question and answer session, lawmaker Shang Hailong asked Lee to score himself and his administration on their effort to resume cross-border quarantine-free travel.

Lee said while it’s up to the public to judge, there’s always room for improvement.

The CE made the comment a day after media reported that people had to queue up late into the night at the testing centre on Maple Street in Sham Shui Po, when the total number of bookings for all the centres for the day only reached 60 percent of their capacity.

“We have to find out where the problem lies. Is it the case that we have not provided a sufficient number of testing centres? The answer is no,” he said, adding that he’s instructed health and IT officials to improve the booking system so that it can show the overall booking situation.

“What is lacking is a flow of information for members of public to know where to go and to avoid queues at certain stations and centres. They can simply go to a different centre with available slots.”

Nonetheless, the CE said the ultimate goal is to replace PCR tests with rapid antigen tests, or scrap testing altogether for people travelling to the mainland.

Separately, a government spokesman said authorities have already added manpower to centres that are busier than others.

But he noted that around 30,000 people had been going for a test without making a booking each day, and warned centres that reach the maximum capacity will not serve those who have not made a prior registration.